The field of the disclosure relates generally to electronic gaming machines, and more specifically, to methods and systems for linking an audio output of any of a plurality of gaming machines to a personal listening device.
Sound is an important way to communicate information to a player in a casino. For example, sound can be used to attract a player to a game and to communicate information about how to play the game, paytable information, etc. Sounds can be used to prompt the player to perform certain tasks, to celebrate winning events, and to announce winning events to nearby players.
Accordingly, sounds produced by a gaming machine may be for the intended benefit of different “audiences.” Some types of sounds produced by a gaming machine are intended for the person playing that gaming machine, whereas other sounds produced by the gaming machine are intended to be heard by other people.
A gaming machine experience can be enhanced when the player can hear and control the audio generated by the gaming machine during game play. However, sound management as part of gaming machine operation is often complex and variable. The ambient noise level in a casino varies greatly throughout the day. At peak times, a casino is quite loud. At off-peak times, however, a casino is relatively quiet.
The dynamic range of the ambient noise level creates a problem for game designers wishing to fully utilize sounds to communicate with players. If a gaming machine's volume is set high enough to be heard in the casino during peak times, it will be unpleasantly loud during non-peak times. The off-peak volume problem is sufficiently disturbing that casino personnel reduce the volume or disable the audio on sound-generating gaming machines to better control the overall soundscape of their casino.
During peak times, people in a gaming establishment are subjected to high-volume sounds, most of which are not intended for the person hearing the sounds. Moreover, some game designers may minimize the use of sounds because of the foregoing issues. Accordingly, if such sound-related problems were resolved, gaming machine sounds could be used more effectively and extensively for personal enjoyment by the players.